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Because I've been all wrapped up in THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON's July 14th release, I've totally neglected to blog about EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME, which came out in paperback in April. The collection of essays was edited by Jennifer O'Connell (Jenny O'Connell to you YA fans), and features 24 essays from such YA superstars as Meg Cabot, Megan McCafferty, and Laura Ruby, not to mention a plethora of awesome adult authors. And, oh, yeah, one written by me, titled "The 'M' Word," which is about my experience reading DEENIE (if you've read DEENIE, then you totally know the "M" word to which I refer). This is the essay that got me name-checked in Entertainment Weekly, which made me just about faint. It's the second-coolest thing that's ever happened to me as a result of my writing career - the film adaptation of TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD STARLET being the first and getting to meet so many of my literary heroes coming in third.

Anyway, you should really check it out, if you haven't already. (EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW, I mean. Well, and TRUE CONFESSIONS, the film and the books. And of course, STELLA, too.)

/ shameless self promotion

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Remember how I said I was going to blogging five days a week from now until infinity? And how I was going to try to build up a portfolio of "timeless" posts for times when I was too busy to spend my morning crafting one?

Um. Yeah. About that ...

Crazy busy weekend here, with Conor's grad party up near the Poconos (thanks again, everyone, for your gift suggestions - while we weren't able to afford them all, and couldn't find some (I'm still annoyed that oversized coffee mugs that can double as bowls are not in vogue right now - we looked EVERYWHERE), we did use a good deal of the ideas you shared. And, despite Grammy advising us to go with cash instead, Conor whispered to me as we were leaving that he liked our gift best, because it took a lot of thought and was really fun and personal. Afterward, Grammy told us that Conor hates getting gift cards for presents, so yeah - Freshman Survival Kit FTW!

Got back really late from PA, as we spent some time at Grammy's house before heading home. Didn't actually reach our front door until just after midnight, and then spent the next two and a half hours prepping my stepfather's brunch for the next day. Originally, we'd planned to have an early breakfast and then go see UP in digital 3D at the theater across the street, but Joe and I were so amped from cooking that we didn't even crawl into bed until 5 a.m., and my mom had a sinus migraine from the near-constant rain, so the movie idea got scrapped and we did brunch closer to 11. Still a really fun day - the baked French toast is always a hit, and we did this sausage-and-English muffin strata (with veggies, cheese, and bacon on top - I joked, "Happy Father's Day! How do you like that heart attack we're giving you?") that Mom says she liked better than the pumpkin-and-sausage strata I traditionally make Christmas morning.

So, we didn't actually get to have time at our house until late Sunday afternoon, though in between all of the traveling and cooking and family visiting, I did manage to sneak in some really important e-mails and a few loads of laundry. Also exciting was receiving this link from Cindy Dobrez, about her and Lynn Ruttan's review of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON for Booklist's blog, Bookends. Almost as exciting was her offer of another blueberry recipe, this one featuring a cookie crust and a cream cheese layer - I'm so making that for Fourth of July, and it will definitely become a Recipe of the Week.

One point that Cindy brought up in her review was that she was disappointed that the cover didn't look entirely as I'd described Stella - namely, the cover model lacks Stella's prone-to-frizz curls that she obsesses over. I have to admit that, I, too, wasn't crazy about the model's ambiguous hair (is it straight? wavy? curly but blown out?. Even so, I'm still very much enamored with this cover. And its designer, Vicki, was very gracious about making some requested changes from the original image. Many books use what's known as "stock photography" for their covers, and mine is no exception. The actual model on this cover is blond with pale blue eyes, and she wore a baby pink tee that clashed with the salmon, red, and purple of the font. So, I asked my brilliant editor, Jodi Keller, if we could make some alterations - like turning Stella into the brunette I intended her to be, tinting her eyes violet as referenced in the book, and making over her t-shirt in a more complementary color. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the final result, lack of curls nothwithstanding.

Making beef stroganoff for dinner tonight - anything in a mushroom and onion laden sauce thickened with sour cream is aces in my book.

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From School Library Journal:

When Stella Madison’s boyfriend says he loves her, those words are not what the17-year-old wants to hear. Max is adorable, sure; it’s just that commitment isnot really her thing, and she has a lot on her plate. The daughter of a famouschef and a restaurateur, Stella has a paid summer internship at the localnewspaper, and she is sneakily swooning over Kitchen’s irresistible new intern,Jeremy. Juggling Max, Jeremy, work, semi-separated parents, and friends is noteasy, and Stella learns that you can’t make an omelet without breaking someeggs. Sweet Life is brimming with teen appeal. Zeises has created a refreshingprotagonist sure to captivate readers, who will enjoy following along as shelearns about romance through food, and vice versa. –EmilyChornomaz, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

I am feeling SO relieved. When ANYONE BUT YOU came out, the only pre-pub review I got was from Kirkus, who always reviews pre-pub. So knowing that SLJ's review is out on time means ... I don't know. Maybe good things?

Now, if only I could get on top of the website update and the stuff my publicist just asked me for ... Read the rest of this post

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This is one I am working on.. the finish will be pen and ink and maybe a bit of digital. Right now I am in the exploration stage, but loving the adventure I am able to create in this musty old library.

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So, you may have noticed that I've been largely MIA for about six weeks. There are perfectly respectable reasons for this, but they'd most likely bore the hell out of anyone who's still reading this sag-adelic blog. In order to give "girl uninterrupted" a bit of a boost, I've pledged to myself that I will begin posting at least a little something-something five days a week, starting right this very second.

May I present to you the super adorable cover for my next book, THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON!

STELLA won't be out until July 2009, but I've been told that galleys will be available at this year's NCTE/ALAN conference in San Antonio. Know what else will be at that conference? ME! I'm speaking on a panel with Tanya Lee Stone, Laura Ruby, and David Levithan that's titled, "I Feel Good: Positive Portrayals of Sex in YA Literature." And on top of it all, my awesome publisher, Random House, has generously donated 400 paperback copies of ANYONE BUT YOU to be distributed during my signing later that same day!

Back to STELLA: I recently finished proofing the galley pages, and I have to confess, I am SO GLAD I had the opportunity to go over the manuscript one last time. Why? Because I discovered some serious authorial offenses. Like, how did we all miss the fact that I used the word "involuntarily" eight times? Literally, EIGHT TIMES. It's too bad that anyone receiving an ARC will have to be subjected to "involuntarily" seven times more than those who buy a copy in the store or check it out from the library, but hey - at least this wrong has been righted in time for publication.

P.S. Kudos to those who noticed the new journal design - and yes, it's in honor of STELLA!

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Author: Linda Ashman (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Paul Meisel (on JOMB)
Published: 2008 Sterling Publishing (on JOMB)
ISBN: 1402739877

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Unabashed autobiographical poems and hilariously expressive illustrations provide the observations and opinions of a straight-shooting canine in this irresistible pooch-hood memoir.

Other books mentioned:

• Oh, Theodore! (Guinea Pig Poems)

More canine poetry on JOMB:

• Good Dog
• Biscuits in the Cupboard
• The Hound from the Pound
• Poodlena
• Safe and Sound

Pop over to author amok for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Hugh Fraser of the Storynory podcast shares his thoughts on The Barefoot Book of Knights (by John Matthews and Giovanni Manna). Thanks, Hugh!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Thanks to Sondra LaBrie at Kane/Miller books, I know that today, Friday, June 20th, is TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY. Who knew such a “holiday” existed? Being a dog lover, I think this is a fun, if not so practical (if we ALL took our dogs to work) idea. I love the idea of “therapy” dogs at hospitals and health care facilities and found this such a comfort a few years ago when my mom was in the hospital. And when I taught sixth grade years and YEARS ago, I desperately wanted to get a dog and my students helped me find one, so I brought him (“Luther”) to school one day. He was a HUGE hit with the kids and they loved taking care of him. It made me a big fan of classroom pets, too, by the way—a great way to develop nurturing and responsibility skills in kids.

In honor of today’s occasion, I’d like to feature a new collection of dog poetry: Stella, Unleashed; Notes from the Doghouse (Sterling, 2008). Linda Ashman has written a fun and frolicking collection of rhyming poems about a much-loved dog’s life all told from the dog’s (Stella’s) point of view. This colorful picture book collection includes 29 poems organized along seven topics from “meet my family” to “the neighborhood pack.” In the illustrations, we see one family adopting a dog from a shelter in the opening poem, “Lost & Found,” and follow their adventures and their new dog, Stella’s, along with an assortment of other dog and human characters. Stella’s poems focus on her relationship with each family member and family pet (cat, fish), as well as her favorite pastimes and pet (!) peeves.

Paul Meisel’s illustrations across single or double page spreads are delightful, singing with a primitive Norman Rockwell-style narrative pull. The font, poem placement, and use of space create a very pleasing whole worth revisiting many times. Stella, her adopted family, and her poems, all have a lot of personality, with lots of kid appeal. Here’s a sample poem from near the end of the book with a sweet message communicated in a fun way.

Someone for Each of Us
by Linda Ashman

Tall and stately.
Short and stubby.
Brindled, spotted, speckled, shaggy.
Small and perky.
Large and bulky.
Wiry, curly, droopy, saggy.

Sporty, active.
Rough and tumble.
Moody types inclined to brood.
Pampered sorts
who crave attention.
Loners who need solitude.

Humans come in many forms—
different styles, sizes, traits.
Life is sweet,
and much less lonely,
when we find our perfect mates.

From Ashman, Linda. 2008. Stella, Unleashed; Notes from the Doghouse. Ill. by Paul Meisel. New York: Sterling, p. 38-39.

A Teacher’s Guide for this book is available at the author’s Web site.

Pair Stella, Unleashed; Notes from the Doghouse with the new picture book by the fun-loving sister team, Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems, for more fun from the dog point of view.

My poetry-loving colleague, Elaine Magliaro, also reviewed Stella, Unleashed on her blog, Wild Rose Reader. Check it out for more insights. (Hint: we agree!)

For more Poetry Friday fun, go to Semicolon.

Picture credit: www.sterlingpublishing.com

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I had sushi for breakfast in the fishmarket, sushi for lunch, and am about to go and have sushi for dinner. Even the Japanese think I'm pushing it a bit.

Will post fishmarket photos, and the story of my day, as soon as I've digested it a little more. In the meantime...

Chris Ewen's Hidden Variable project now has its own website at http://www.hiddenvariable.net/. Chris got a bunch of authors to write lyrics for him, mostly Malena to sing them (although Cosi Fanni Tutti sings one, and Claudia Gonson sings my song "unresolving"). The fabulous Lorraine plays violin. You can hear song samples at http://www.hiddenvariable.net/songs.html


Jonathan Ross's In Search of Steve Ditko documentary has, for the moment, crept onto YouTube. (I'm putting some embedded video in here, so if you're reading it on an RSS feed and you can't see the video or links, click on the link to the original post now.)



Here are parts two to six:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbHblWpCIcU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4p3Gt2dFQQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXkDEIgYfTw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_ymGSFD2c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvXGyRknQHo

and people who complain that I don't smile enough on camera will get to see me with a very goofy grin on my face in the final part, part 7...

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